Is this what it’s like to live in Nepal? The streets of Patan offer a look at the two sides to life in Nepal

Living in Nepal as a foreigner

I usually end out a longer term stay in a country by writing about what it’s like to live there. These are my experiences and opinions. It’s a diverse world we live in. While some people “live in Nepal” as diplomats or Aid workers others work in regular jobs, are married etc.

While it’s not really possible to relate all my experiences into one all-knowing article I will try to cover the main tangents. If you’ve been following my journey then you’ll know what I am looking for and how I go about it. So if you’re interested in what it’s like to live in Nepal? Here’s my take …

Nationalities & people who live in Nepal

There are a surprising number of foreigners living in Nepal. Beyond the dwindling number of yearly returning aged western hippies and smatterings of youthful volunteers quite a few people actually live in Nepal that were not born here.

There’s more to Nepal than a trek to Everest Base Camp … Especially if you try to live here

Predominantly I mainly see Indians, Asians and Europeans living here. Including these there are also high numbers of Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, French, Swiss, German and British. North American’s are around in many capacities but not overwhelmingly. While Indians are hard to tell apart from Nepalese they are here in large numbers and have been for many years. The largest change in recent years is the regional influx of Chinese and Koreans.

Mistakes foreigners make when moving to Nepal

Leaving refugees and asylum seekers out of the equation in terms of “wanting to live in Nepal”, many foreigners come to Nepal looking to stay from medium to long periods. From this group, in general, there are some common mistakes people make when moving to Nepal. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes …

Thinking you will find a job here

Forget it! Yes you will need a source of income. But the chances that you will get this by working for someone else, let alone a local, is very slim. Yes there are some niche jobs. High end hotel management, engineering, hydro electricity companies, aid work and so forth. But the reality is most of those jobs come from overseas to begin with. I’m discounting missionary work here and voluntary work in Nepal.

If you do manage to hawk out a local job the salary certainly won’t be enough to keep you in living standards you are accustomed to. It’s a land where there are countless unemployed and Nepal is increasingly a land that favors their own.

Chances are you’ll have more Nepalese people asking you for a job than finding one yourself.

Still interested in working in Nepal? Check out my article on jobs and working in Nepal. Your best option? Get a job working in Nepal before you arrive or become self-employed.

Thinking you will find true love here

I’m dropping all forms of political correctness here. If you are a foreign woman you will easily find a husband here. If you are a foreign man you will not so easily find a wife here, but it is possible.

By way of culture it’s far more permissible for a Nepalese man to pursue a woman than it is for a Nepalese woman to pursue a man. No matter their citizenship.

It’s well-known that many Nepalese men will actively pursue single women of all ages from abroad.

A look at Kathmandu’s streets beyond the tourist center during a strike

Not only is there a prestige in having a “foreign” girlfriend. There’s a clear route to financial stability and a passport to a new life. While the opposite is also true it’s harder to find due to cultural boundaries and it usually ends up with a foreign man making a request to some local friends to help him find a suitable local wife.

Bottom line: finding a spouse in Nepal can be easy – finding genuine love is another thing. The number of failed marriages here is staggering. Ditto even if the married couple moves overseas.

Next up you’ll want to think about children. It’s complex. A foreigner married to a local who has a son, no problem. A foreigner married to a local who has a daughter … well your daughter may not be entitled to Nepalese citizenship … Yes, while Nepal recently received publicity for allow gay marriage, the rights of everyday people are still lacking. Why? Think about the publicity and tourism numbers … simple as that.

Thinking that you can buy land here or find a way around the law

You stand no chance. The law in Nepal is very clear. Foreigners cannot own land in Nepal. Period.

Yes you can give your Nepalese wife/husband or business partner a bucket load of cash to buy land. But it will never be in your name. A failed marriage or business relationship means you as a foreigner have little ground to stand on. No matter how much legal paperwork you filled out beforehand. The chances are you will come away with nothing.

Even Nepalese people themselves are constantly being done over by property deals here. Constantly changing governments, bribe taking local law makers and a lack of property rights mean that big money can buy anyone’s land.

Example: I have a Nepalese friend who bought some titled land. Sign sealed and delivered. Five years later and a local road was just built through it. They lost it all. No compensation. If a local can’t win – a foreigner certainly never will.

You can own a house or an apartment on land or lease land and then build a house on it. But the bottom line is that the land that you built on will not be yours. Leases have a habit of being changed and unless you have a vast sum of cash to keep things in the courts. Without having some cash in hand it’s not going to work out in your favor.

Starting a business will be easy

If you want to do this legally you better have a nice start-up fund. For USD$300 you can get a business visa in Nepal for one year (here’s more on the different types of visas available in Nepal). That’s just one obstacle, but it’s quite simple to solve for some cash.

After that you’ll also need a license to invest in Nepal. That’s before you can even begin to register your business for which you’ll need proof of a hefty investment. Of course if you have one million US Dollars it’s all a lot easier and you can invest away with ease. You could also be a silent partner in a Nepalese company. But of course you lose all your legal rights that way.

The good news is that you can own 100% of your business. Though you’ll need a lot of capital to get it kick-started. There are however a lot of foreigners working without all this hassle. Some simply come over to buy goods and ship them out. Others come over during the trekking season as guides and simply don’t declare this.

Many regional foreigners (Chinese/Korean/Indian) marry a local and have them start-up the business in their name while maintaining a promise of wealth to a family. Then when a child is born (must be a son as a daughter doesn’t have the same rights if the father is a foreigner) the ownership is transferred to the child with the father having custody should said marriage dissolve. This works for owning land too.

Easy to start a business in Nepal? If you have money or ethics to spare yes.

As a sub-note many people often open up NGO’s under the guise of charities to front small businesses in Nepal. This often leads to a host of problems and I would not recommend it. But, many unethical people are involved in this side of thing. Including many volunteer agencies in Nepal (read more on this and on volunteering in Nepal).

Thinking you can handle the fact that things will be “different”

Looking at Nepal from the outside or even after a year here things might seem rosy. Nice people, cheap things to buy and nice scenery.

The reality is power shortages, more strikes/bandas than public holidays (of which Nepal has many), food shortages, language/cultural differences and of course everyday life which is much the same everywhere in the world.

It’s all relatively easy to handle in the short-term. A challenge maybe. But over the long-term such things can wear you down mentally.

I again use the same saying for Nepal as with many other developing countries:

“It’s great to ‘live’ here for a 6 months at a time, but anything longer than that and you could go mad”

The above excludes diplomats and high paid expat workers who live quiet plush lives.

Underestimating the cost of living in Nepal

Nepal is not as cheap as many people think. Yes as a tourist the idea of spending $10 a night on a hotel and $10 a day on food seems cheap. Then again even the cost of traveling Nepal as a tourist is going up. But we are not talking budget travel here. We are talking living in Nepal.

Accommodation is not so expensive out of Kathmandu city central but you’ll be lacking in many amenities. A basic apartment can run at $170 per month. You won’t be near very much so you’ll need to factor in public transport. Electricity bills. A generator plus fuel plus surge protectors for load shedding months. A battery inverter. Drinking water delivery. Internet fees.

In the center of Kathmandu apartment prices and conditions rise. It’s not unusual to see basic clean apartments run from USD$400-1200 per month. The more money you pay the more “working” facilities you’ll get.

It could be more expensive to live in Nepal than you might think

Now let’s move onto health insurance for Nepal which requires you to have insurance from overseas which is expensive to say the least. If you have children you’ll probably want them to attend a private school in Nepal which generally means a private school in Kathmandu all of which seem to have some really interestingly high prices. Home schooling might be a better option.

You’ll want to go to an expat hospital here and not a local one too. Again this limits you to Kathmandu in terms of location. And we haven’t even started on the fact that food prices in Nepal have doubled in the past few years and look set to continue. Cheap by western standards? Yes. Are the living standards the same? No.

Keeping up to your living standards from home will cost you a lot in Nepal. Living like a local long-term is really not advisable for the sake of your health, security and sanity. Don’t underestimate the cost of living in Nepal. It’s all doable but more expensive than you might think.

Not understanding the diverse culture in Nepal

Nepal is hugely diverse. It’s not just “Nepalese people” living here. There are ethnic differences throughout the country that mean a lot. Not to mention the Nepalese caste system. Then factor in the new generation of Nepalese people who both hang on to tradition and are also trying to part ways from it.

There’s also a huge difference between the way of life of say a diplomat, NGO worker and a local here. And even within Nepal there are huge differences between the castes. Not understanding this can lead to problems if you live here. Moreover ignoring it will work against you in the long run.

One lady who moved here with her husband seems to live in another reality. She talks about eating local food from her “help”. Then in the same breath talks of not being able to get good wines?! She ended by joyfully remarking that she once ate some of that “Dal Bhat stuff” and had a weekend in the loo. This is someone who’s “lived” here for years!

The saying “this is how the other-half live” couldn’t be more true.

Learning Nepalese and understanding the culture here is a must if you want to survive the first year.

Not knowing how to deal with racism & cultural integration

You are a foreigner. You always will be. No matter how much of the language you learn or how much you dress like a local you will always be a foreigner. If you are from the west you are presumed rich. If Indian you will be presumed to be here on business or taking jobs from Nepalese. If Chinese you will be irked as taking over the country. If “western” then you might also be considered as one of the last of the White Elephants.

Yes these are non-politically correct generalizations and as one older lady from the USA said “I’ve never seen any of this!” Outraged and shocked she dismissed the notion as she went back to her comfortable hotel with a pool where she had “lived in Nepal” for the past two months.

It’s easy to turn a blind eye here. I’ve met volunteers living in villages for months who speak fluent Nepali. They come to the big city and locals enjoy talking with them as it’s not that often they meet a foreigner who speaks their language. This is great. This is wonderful. But at the end of the day they are still asked to pay an extra charge because they are a foreigners.

It can get to you over time. The two tiered pricing and the assumptions of wealth.

What’s more there’s a current insurgence of Nepali pride which does not like the idea of foreigners living in Nepal under the assumption that they will take their jobs. It’s not out in the open and certainly not in the tourism sector. However racism on many levels is alive and well in Nepal. The Great White Elephant in Nepal is simply just not spoken about out in the open.

Always remember, you are not Nepalese and never will be. You’ll do better that way.

Not being able to cope with long-term frustration

Average street in Kathmandu … can you live here?

If all of the above can seem a little frustrating then imagine what it’s like in real life. Every day. Can you handle it? Can you handle the constant assumptions of wealth and two tiered pricing? The barter system. The power cuts, pollution and traffic? It’s a very different thing to come to Nepal on holiday or even for a few months compared to living here.

“Frustration is not the word. Mind breaking is more like it” commented an expat here for 10 years.

Coping with frustration plays a huge part in living in Nepal – don’t underestimate it!

Kathmandu’s a shadow of its former self

One thing I’ve noticed on this return to Nepal is the decline of return tourists. The tourism slogan “Naturally Nepal, Once is not enough” may once have rung true once upon a time. Today those returning travelers do not see it that way.

Kathmandu is business oriented these days. Ship them in, get them out. Mass package tourism is on the rise. Chitwan is becoming a package tour destination. While Pokhara is very slowly becoming too built up with hotels and guesthouses.

A horrified returning tourist in his 60’s couldn’t believe the changes they’s seen in Kathmandu alone.

“Kids on motorbikes are everywhere!” he said shaking his head. “It’s dirtier than I remember. No one cleans up anymore. And the hashish sellers are selling prostitutes now too!”

Visit a bar in Kathmandu today and you’ll often see a few older traveler hippie types in a corner. Surrounding them are new modern travelers and locals in smart branded clothing drinking cocktails. The former look confused, lost and a little sad.

A well-known business woman catering to tourists said this to me, “We don’t make any money from foreigner tourists anymore. We make most of it from locals. They want the best quality and don’t mind paying for it. Western foreigners don’t like paying high prices!”

Last call for Kathmandu

Indeed even from my own first visit here in 2007 compared to today I can see a substantial difference. The city is simply not the same. Kathmandu is wavering …

Yes for a first timer it still might hold some charm. But if you saw it before it was a very different place.

The idea of living in the Kathmandu of 10 or more years ago simply doesn’t hold true anymore.

The curtains are closed on the old city and there’s a new Kathmandu in town.

Then again Nepal is a fantastic place

Is it possible to live in Nepal as a foreigner today? Yes, absolutely. Don’t let all the above put you off. Let it be a forewarning of what you may expect.

Simply put:

Be prepared for the above and you’ll be more than one step ahead of the rest!

However for all the above one must also weigh in the positives.

A beautiful environment that’s unlike any other in the world. Mountains, snow, lakes, wildlife, rain, sun etc – you name it Nepal has just about everything aside from the sea.

Nepal has many woes – but the landscapes, food, cultures and best of all the people make up for it!

The Nepalese people are warm, friendly and for the most part quite trustworthy. The food is wholesome, filling and varied. I have no issues at all with Nepalese food!

It can be a wild and confusing place where nothing works. It’s maddening at times. But once you get over that then just go with the flow for the sake of your blood pressure and sanity. The reality is you can do more in Nepal and have more freedom than in most other places. Bus breaks down? No problem jump on the back of a truck filled with water buffalo along with everyone else.

Opportunity abounds in Nepal. It is still a unique place in this touristic world. It’s located right in the middle of two giant super-powers. With the right mindset and with perseverance you could accomplish a lot in Nepal should the winds of luck blow in your favor.

Is living in Nepal possible & do you want to live in Nepal?

It really all depends on what you want or for how long you want it. If I could overcome some of the above including having a larger income and a permanent visa to Nepal with constitutional rights I’d be very happy. Even if it would take years to obtain.

The reality is that it’s not going to happen. At least not overnight. Politically Nepal is a mess for such things to become a reality. Change in Nepal is like the well overdue earthquake that’s expected to flatten fifty percent of Kathmandu. It’s overdue, but no one knows when it will happen.

Living in Nepal, once you factor in the above, is a game of chance, hard work, compromise and sacrifice. Already there are small tremors. When is the big one? Is it worth the risk?

For some the cost will be too much to live in Nepal. For others? Well they might be some of the very few who find their paradise.

Okay so that’s living in Nepal! What about traveling to Nepal? Be sure to check out my free travel guides to Nepal.

Liked this page? You’ll love my guidebook! It’s a guidebook that’s better than the rest. Yes, really. Take a look and see for yourself.

It covers everything you need to know with detailed easy to follow maps, walking tours, definitive descriptions (with photos) of every temple, recommendations plus personally visited restaurants and accommodation reviews with so much more for you to discover right now in your hands that you won’t get anywhere else.

Yes indeed! I spent some time in the ‘developing world’. I worked in the construction business and my primary motive was money. I had to feed my wife and children. The above article as you say Wade could be applied to many countries. I am an old man and am quite comfortable living here in NYC. I still miss Africa to some degree, However I do not miss the pollution, the dirty water, the in your face corruption, and the list goes on and on.

I guess the thing I miss most of all are the smiles,, the attitude, and the spirituality that comes with having nothing. That is not to say that materialism is not alive and well in ‘developing countries’. Quite the contrary.

I wonder what Eight Finger Eddie would think of present day Istanbul or Kathmandu. I read a few chapters of his crazy book. What a laugh. Perhaps it is a good thing that times have changed. I guess Paddy Fisher started the ball rolling back in the 1950’s with The Indiaman. I actually knew a few Irish engineers who traveled on Paddy’s bus while working on contract in India . Such innocent times.

I find that change is also the thrust of the article but I guess we have no choice but to accept that the world is changing fast . It is surely a sign of the times that we will be able to move ships where Henry Hudson and other floundered in ice.

I always enjoyed your posts especially when it touches the country I love a lot.

While I’m not familiar with the politics and business and living long term in Nepal (have been thinking about it for a long time), I do recognise some of the problems that you have stated as I have saw it for myself especially about the drugs and the country getting dirtier than previous.

On the other hand, the warmth that Nepalis have given me made me wanting to go back again and again, so much so I would really love to move over. Your article however gave me a heads-up on what to expect and I will prepare myself by finding out more from my Nepali friends.

Thanks and keep writing :-) I’m heading to the beloved land tomorrow coincidentally.

One thing I’d like to add. Unless you are Nepalese there’s only so much you can learn from Nepalese people about living there. That might seem strange but as I’m sure you know differing castes will have differing outlooks on Nepal. Moreover you’re not Nepalese so what might effect them might not bother you and vice verse. Just something to keep in mind :)

Not only foreigners, sometimes even we become the victim of high pricing (while living out from home, buying some stuffs and spending cash on beverages and entertainments ). Definitely Kathmandu has changed a lot, pollution is the most(i was born in here). This year i went to Pokhara and it was my 10th time. I noticed a lot of changes in Pokhara. High priced hotels,hazard settlements with unmanaged road and traffics.
The thing is everything this blog holds is true.I’m pretty sure that you have stayed long enough in Nepal :)

Good points Pradeep. I tentatively avoided mentioning what’s it like to live in Nepal as a Nepalese person as I’m not Nepalese. It tends to open up a whole other can of worms so to speak. But yes, you do bring up a great point of when a national moves away from the city or region they were born in to a new area. That too can result in greater prices, abrupt changes and social integration problems.

Hopefully in the not too distant future I can open up that discussing to Nepalese people and let them right here about what they think about living in Nepal! :) should be interesting!!

Hi Dave. very interesting!! more so as i had reading some one saying how good it would be to live there!! How you can buy land & houses! unlike he said Thailand where the guy lives! Said he would move there if his Thai wife would go!! lol.

Really interesting piece. I’ve not lived in Nepal but I go back again and again, and it’s easily my favourite country to travel in, so I can imagine many of the frustrations and the highs you describe.

Quite a few westerners working in the tourist industry (guides, trek leaders, tour operators, etc.) live in Nepal during the tourist seasons of Feb-Jun and Sep-Nov. It seems to me they have the best of both worlds being able to dip in and out, spending much of their lives in a fantastic country but able to “escape” back home from time to time.

Thanks for all the stuff you’ve written about Nepal over the last few months. I’ve really enjoyed reading it; you’re providing a great service.

I have to admit, my idea, or better to say illusion, of Nepal has been partly shattered by your post, but it stays on my bucket list nonetheless. Not planning to put down roots there so I should be ok.. I guess I´m just going to wander from one temple to another focusing on recharging my batteries and not thinking too much about what real life is like in Nepal. Hopefully, it does not sound too egocentric:)

I’ll be going to Nepal next year. This has been a great read in preparing. I’m going to be working with a local sustainable agriculture co-op just outside Pokhara. It’s a non-pay volunteer position via a friend at the UNHCR (but not a UN position) as it involves women in the workplace. Reading through your website has given me a lot to mull over. Just wanted to say thanks!

Enjoyed your article. As you said, foreigners are considered rich, yes it’s true. I am from Nepal and when we were kids, we used to think the same way. Still people think that developed countries are like the heaven, unless they go abroad. You have difficulties there in one way and others have difficulties somewhere else. I think, as a foreigner, everyone has hard time living outside of their countries. At least most Nepalese respect foreigners really well (except the exceptions :)

It certainly works both ways. It doesn’t matter where someone is from there will always be issues when moving to another country. It’s how plausible it is to actually live there for good that things come down to in the end.

Hi Dave, If I recall correctly, you went back to Nepal thinking you might have found home there, apparently it seems you gave up on that idea? Now you’re in Thailand, are you considering finding home there? Would be great to hear an update about your personal story and what motivates you to go where you go. You should also try Cambodia if Thailand doesn’t work for you. I tried living in the Philippines but found Cambodia much more welcoming.
Best Regards, Marco

I did an interview recently about this. The answer is I’d love to live in Nepal. The problem is bureaucracy. I will never be allowed to be a resident, own land or vote. Whereas a Nepalese person who moves to the USA/Europe/Australia can, eventually, do those things. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

Moreover a dangerous one to try and swallow as many have and have choked on the reality of moving to such a place. I can certainly stay a long time in Nepal. This is no problem. But in regards to actually being able to live there, legally. It seems Nepal (and most of Asia) don’t want that to happen for “foreigners”.

Some notes about this travel blog

Travel Blog Content

Travel Blog: It's a blog / journal & not like the rest of the site - so do explore the rest of the website via the top menu to find everything from helpful information to travel guides! Blog journals are not always live as they happen. I want to document in writing & photography what's happening to me and this journey as a whole. I don't have access to 24/7 internet nor work behind a stationary media desk. And, when I do get online it's not all about writing here.

Twitter is a good place to see my live updates. I have to factor many things into this journey, as such, time and finances to process photos, locate internet, upload and write on the road is prioritized. I do it whenever I can, and as fast as I can. Please take that into account.

You might find this Travel Blog a little different to most. A lot of what goes on here is the raw reality of life. Lots more in my about section. Everything here is written by me. Anything I review here has been bought or paid for by me with no exceptions. Rest assured that what you get here is 100% upfront and honest.
If I have not written anything here or updated my status on twitter in over two weeks then someone might like to call the police in said country. I joke not. This is real life folks and I'm living it here!

If you have met me en route, please don't take offense if your name is not mentioned in my travel blog/journal. As mentioned it started off as a personal journal and will hopefully continue on like that.

I change names and don't make personal references as I've seen people take offense in the past. If it happens here, then I will have to take the journal/blog off public viewing.

Photographs, Text & Copyright

Full resolution photographs are available for sales, prints or for free depending on intended usage.

Sign up to my free travel journal updates

A full length RSS feed is available to all, BUT I'd really recommend my free email subscription instead! My email subscription gives you a whole lot more: my photo book, back-story details not published here. It's all completely free, and a great way to travel along with me and stay up to date.